1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to firearms and more specifically to a recoil suppression system for the stock of a firearm.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the age old problems that has existed with firearms is the fact that many of them have severe recoil that affects the person firing the weapon. In firearms such as shotguns and rifles, for example, the rear end or butt of the stock is positioned against the shooter's shoulder and when discharging a shell, the recoil applies a centrifugal force to the firearm. The recoil force generally causes the front of the firearm to rise each time the weapon is fired. The amount of recoil may vary depending upon the amount of explosive powder in the shell being fired and may result in pain and/or bruising to the shooter's shoulder area. One example of when the recoil is detrimental to a shooter's accuracy is when the firearm is a shotgun being used for skeet shooting.
The best prior art recoil systems for the stock of a firearm have been very expensive, and the inexpensive systems typically are not effective in relieving the effects of the recoil resulting from firing a firearm. Two examples of expensive prior art recoil systems are a hydro-coil fluid dampening system and a pneumatic air chamber dampening system. Present day inexpensive recoil systems typically utilize one or more compression springs to absorb and dampen the recoil forces. If the compression spring is a little too-strong, more recoil results than if only the standard rifle recoil pad had been used. If the compression spring is not strong enough, some movement of the firearm will occur providing a similar result as if the firearm stock had been held against the shoulder too loosely.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,339 (“the '339 patent”) issued to James K. Bentley and Willard H. Crawford, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,718 (“the '718 patent”), a continuation-in-part of the '339 patent, also issued to James K. Bentley and Willard H. Crawford, disclose a firearm recoil suppression system mounted at the rear or butt end of the firearm stock. The recoil suppression system of the '339 and '718 patents comprises a recoil suppressor assembly attached to the rear of a firearm stock and extending into a cavity provided in the rear portion of the stock. A recoil housing is attached over and secured to the suppressor assembly via an elongated piston mounted in a cavity provided in the suppressor assembly for reciprocal motion relative to the suppressor assembly. When the firearm is fired, the resulting recoil force causes the firearm stock to travel rearwardly into the recoil housing extending one or more coil springs to absorb the recoil force. After the recoil force has been minimized or dissipated, the extended spring or springs return the firearm stock to its initial forward static position.
While the recoil suppression system disclosed by the '339 and '719 patents overcomes many of the problems associated with earlier prior art recoil suppression systems as described above, the recoil suppression system includes a large number of components and is relatively complex and difficult to assemble. Further, the recoil suppression systems disclosed by the '339 and '719 patents require that the stock of the firearm enter the recoil housing. Thus, the recoil housing must have a larger outer profile than the stock to permit the stock to enter into the inner cavity of the recoil housing, which some users may view as aesthetically unappealing. Further, the movement of the stock into the recoil housing requires a different sized recoil housing for each different size of stock. It may be beneficial to provide a recoil system that could be adapted to various stocks.
In light of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a recoil suppression system for the rear or butt end of a firearm stock to minimize or dissipate the recoil force resulting from firing the firearm which includes relatively few components and is simple to assemble and install. Further, it may be desirable to provide a recoiled suppression system for the rear or butt end of a firearm stock that does not require the stock to slidably enter a recoil housing. It may be desirable to provide a recoil suppression system that may be easily modified to function with various sizes of firearm stocks.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of one or more of the issues set forth above.